Curtain threader



Sept. 1, 1942. c. KOENKE CURTAIN THREADER Filed Nov. 5, 1941 INVENTOR. MHz f R Patented Sept. 1, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CURTAIN THREADER Carl Koenke, Detroit, Mich.

Application November 5, 1941, Serial No. 417,956

3 Claims.

The purpose of my invention is to provide a simple but an efiicient device to serve as an aid in threading curtains upon curtain rods. Particularly, the device is intended for bar shaped rods which are ordinarily made of thin sheet metal and which, as a rule, have angular or even sharp edges on ends, so that the fabric of the curtains is easily caught thereon and the threading impeded thereby. A simple solution of the problem calls, therefore, for an implement which, affixed to the end of the curtain rod, would be provided with a smooth tip and yet it must be made in such a shape that once afiixed to the end of the curtain rod the device would not come easily oif. My invention is the answer to this problem.

Another purpose of my invention is to provide a device not only of simple construction but also one which can be easily manufactured. I shall now describe the device of my invention with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my curtain threader.

Fig. 2 is a sectional longitudinal view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a modified form of my curtain threader.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of my curtain threader as afiixed over the end of a curtain rod and ready for threading.

Similar numerals refer to throughout the several views.

The threader of my invention may be made of metal, plastic or other suitable material. The outer surface of the threader is smooth and devoid of any projections. It is essentially composed of two principal members It and II. If made of metal, said member It! can be made of one blank bent together into a U-shaped trough, one side of which is open forming a U-shaped jaw I4. The other end of said member has the shape of a flattened cone indicated by numeral I2, and ending in a smooth rounded tip I3. Placed oppositely thereto is another troughshaped member II which, if made of metal, may be also shaped out of a single blank. At one end said member II is open, forming jaw H, the sides of the jaw being closer together than the sides of jaw I4, so that said jaw Il may easily move within the confines of jaw I4. Ears I6 extending from the sides of member II, substantially in mid-section thereof and in the planes of the respective sides, are perforated to accommodate a pin I set crosswise in member ID and supported in bearings struck in opposing walls of said member. The opposite side of member II slopes down to a point I9, which is at all times disposed within the interior of the cone-shaped end I2 of member ID.

It will be thus seen that by means of said pin I5 the two parts are joined together, member similar parts II being pivotally disposed within the sides of trough Iil. A spring I8 looped around pin I5 is disposed within the confines of the two oppositely set members I0 and II, and the ends of said spring bear against the respective bottoms of trough-shaped members Ill and II. As a result of that, the two members form a clamp, the jaws of which, that is, jaws I4 and I1, may be expanded by pressure on member II at point 20.

The operation of the device is obvious. When a curtain, indicated by numeral 2I in Fig. 4, is to be threaded with the aid of my device upon curtain rod, indicated by numeral 22 in said Fig. 4, the jaws of my threader are expanded by pressure on member II at point 20. When the jaws are so expanded, the curtain rod is inserted between said jaws, the pressure on member II is released, whereupon the end of said curtain rod is gripped by and between jaws I4 and I1, both said jaws being under the tension of spring I8. The tip I3 of my threader, being smooth, easily penetrates into the loop 23 formed out of the fabric of the curtain, by means of which loop the curtains are ordinarily suspended.

I wish to add that the shape of tip I3 may be easily changed as, for instance, shown in Fig. 3, where said tip is provided with a ball 24. Other changes may be also made in the device without deviating from the principle of my invention as disclosed.

What I, therefore, wish to claim is as follows:

1. A curtain threader of the kind described, comprising a U-shaped trough, forming at one end a flattened hollow cone, an oppositely set member also forming a U-shaped trough, pivotally mounted within the first said member, one of its ends being disposed within the aforesaid cone, the open ends of both troughs forming opposing jaws, and spring means to urge the jaws toward each other.

2. A curtain threader comprising an elongated member, forming at one end a U-shaped jaw and a hollow threading cone at the other, an oppositely set member pivotally mounted between the walls of the former, one of its ends being confined within the interior of said cone, the other forming a jaw, and spring means to bring both jaws in a clamping engagement.

3. A curtain threader of the kind described, comprising an elongated member forming a jaw at one end and a conelike threading point at the other, an opposite member pivotally mounted on the mid-section of the former and provided with a jaw at one end, while the other end.-

is confined within the interior of said conelike threading point, and spring means between said members to urge the jaws thereof toward each other.

CARL KOENKE. 

